PSE’s Mark Drury on His Daughter Taylor’s First Deer

Taylor Drury - Drury Outdoors

Editor’s Note: Why would a daddy teach his daughter to hunt, and what are the benefits? This week, we’ll learn the answers to these questions and more from PSE’s Mark Drury of Drury Outdoors, nationally known turkey caller and deer and turkey hunter. You’ll be surprised what you’ll learn about why every father should get his daughter into hunting.

Question: Mark, how old was Taylor when she graduated from target shooting to actual hunting in the woods?

Drury: Taylor took her first deer with a gun when she was 8 years old, but she didn’t take a deer with a bow until she was 12 years old. Taylor’s first bow kill was a 3 year old buck with a 105 inch rack. We practiced all summer until Taylor could pull and shoot 30 pounds on her bow. I attached a cut on contact Magnus Stinger broadhead on the front of her arrow shaft, and I told her that she couldn’t take a shot unless the deer came within 15 yards. When the buck came within 9 yards, Taylor smoked that shot and that buck. She was so excited and started crying, and I got excited and started crying. We got the whole hunt on video. That was one of my greatest hunts ever. Taylor has taken a deer every year with her bow since she was 12 years old, and this past year (2011) she took a really nice buck.

Question: Mark, what do you tell other dads about teaching their daughters how to bowhunt?

Drury: The number one question I get through emails and that people at consumer shows ask is, “How do I get my daughter into bowhunting?” Here are the three keys:

* Start her target shooting when she’s really young.

* Never push her. Don’t force your daughter to go shoot when she doesn’t want to do that.

* Always make shooting the bow fun. Make it fun for her age, not for your age. If she wants to take an iPod and play games, let her do it. If she wants to shoot pumpkins, let her shoot pumpkins. If she wants to shoot balloons, let her shoot balloons. Just make it a game. But then when she wants to take a deer, make sure she understands how to do that.

Question: Mark, what did Taylor say when she walked up to that first buck she took with her bow?

Drury: Taylor was so excited and also surprised that the deer was as big as it was. When Taylor took her first deer with a gun, she was taking dance classes at the time. She was so excited that she started doing cartwheels. I was just as excited, and I did a cartwheel too. I wanted Taylor to know that I was just as excited as she was about her taking her first deer. I believe that Taylor and I are as close as a father and daughter can be, because of all the fun we’ve had in the outdoors together. Each year, Taylor and I probably hunt around 30 or 40 days together.

Question: When you and Taylor are on the stand together, what do y’all discuss?

Drury: Lately, we talk about boyfriends more than anything else.

Tomorrow: Deer Hunting and Deer Management – A Family Activity for PSE’s Mark Drury and His Daughter Taylor

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